The Bullheaded Adventurer
by Master Argus
Summary: A story about how Angrath ended up on Ixalan.


"They don't call this place Hammerheim for nothing." Angrath took three of the legendary hammers forged by Bartel Runeaxe himself off the walls of the ruins. He then turned to his adventuring partner. "Take whatever else you want, but these are mine."

"You know I'm not interested in weapons and trinkets." Tamiyo replied. She pointed to the runes on the wall that she'd been transcribing onto one of her scrolls. "This is my treasure."

"Hmph! More for me, then." Angrath stowed the hammers in his satchel. "And for Rumi and Jamira." he said with a smile on his face.

"If you have what you want, I won't keep you. This could take me awhile."

"Guess I'll go home, then. Where should we go next?"

"Well, I'm starting an expedition on Tarkir next week."

"That dragon-infested wasteland? Count me out." Angrath stepped away and began glowing red-orange. "Try not to die." he said as he planeswalked away.

* * *

Angrath arrived at the front gate of his village. No matter how many other planes he visited, none of them could match the quaint charm of his homeworld. It was only natural for even the most adventurous individuals to yearn for the familiarity of home, and Planeswalkers were no exception. Besides, Angrath had a loving family here. There was nothing like spending a couple weeks on another plane to make him appreciate his life on this one.

The minotaur opened the door to his house. "Rassia, Rumi, Jamira, I'm back!" he shouted. Moments later, his family gathered at the front entrance to greet him.

"Where've you been, dear?" Rassia asked in a slightly irritated voice. She'd been growing concerned about her husband's frequent and lengthy adventures lately and wanted him to spend more time at home, but quelling a Planeswalker's wanderlust was damn near impossible. Deciding he'd rather not start an argument in front of their daughters, Angrath pretended not to notice her tone.

"Dominaria. Tamiyo called it the Nexus of the Multiverse or something and said it's got more history than any other plane. We went to the ruins of an old fortress called Hammerheim." Angrath reached into his satchel and pulled out two of the hammers he'd plundered. "These are for you." He handed one to each of his daughters.

"Thanks, dad!" Rumi swung her hammer a few times. "This is amazing!"

"Yeah." he agreed as he pulled out the one he took for himself. "Apparently these were forged by a giant named Bart Something-Or-Other." His family shot him a quizzical look. "You know I'm no good with details. Stories are Tamiyo's thing, not mine."

"Aww, I like her stories." Jamira complained. "I wish she'd visit more often."

"Mmm, I don't know about that." Rassia said. Angrath rolled his eyes in response. The minotaur family continued their conversation as they moved to the kitchen for dinner.

* * *

Tamiyo and her fiancé Genku stood atop one of Kamigawa's majestic mountains. She'd come here to test out the power of her latest story, _The Thundering Avalanche_. It detailed the exploits of Bartel Runeaxe, a renowned blacksmith, warrior and leader of Hammerheim. The giant was a well-known tactician and wielded powerful earth magic. Long ago, Keld sought to expand their territory onto the mainland of Aerona, but their first obstacle was the Smoke Mountains where Hammerheim was located. The Keldons were forced into a literal uphill battle with Runeaxe's forces. Runeaxe used his magic to cause an avalanche, then he and his troops charged down the mountains and crushed the Keldon army. After such a humiliating defeat, the Keldons retreated to their homeland and never invaded Aerona again.

All of this was written on the walls of Hammerheim, which Tamiyo had transcribed. Her stories weren't just stories, but were also the source of her magic. She pulled out her scroll and read the story to herself, then tapped into the mountain's mana to draw out the story's power. As expected, the earth and snow beneath her loosened and started a small avalanche down the mountain.

"Impressive as always." Genku said.

"Thanks." Tamiyo replied. It was doubtful that she'd be using this particular scroll anytime soon, but it was always good to know what magic was in her stories. And on the rugged terrain of Tarkir, you never know when some earth magic might come in handy. With the experiment complete, the soratami couple called their cloud chariot over. It was time to head back to Oboro. On the way, Genku turned to Tamiyo.

"You said you got that scroll from Dominaria?"

"Yes."

"Did you really meet a descendent of Toshiro Umezawa there?"

"I did. Takehiro Umezawa and his young daughter Tetsuko. Apparently one of their ancestors defeated Nicol Bolas long ago, and the family has been hiding from him ever since the Mending."

"Amazing. That sounds like a much better story than _The Thundering Avalanche._"

"It is, but Angrath insisted we visit Hammerheim instead of Madara. You know how forceful he tends to get."

"Makes me wonder why you even bother with him. Why not go adventuring with the others?"

"Venser has disappeared and Arlinn's busy on her homeworld. And good luck pulling Dovin away from his duties."

"That just leaves Angrath." Genku recalled just how much the minotaur Planeswalker hated dragons. "I suppose you're going to Tarkir alone, then?"

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." Tamiyo reassured him.

"I know, it's just… we're going to be married soon. Wouldn't you rather settle down here for a while?"

Tamiyo thought about Angrath. He was rude, stubborn and impatient, but when he talked about his daughters, Tamiyo knew just how much joy they brought him. Maybe it was time she started a family of her own. She turned to Genku and smiled. "Alright, but after I'm done on Tarkir."

"I look forward to it." Genku leaned in and kissed Tamiyo.

* * *

Angrath planeswalked to Skybreen on the plane of Kaldheim. He took a moment to appreciate the scenery of the mountain peak. While most Planeswalkers disliked the intense cold of this world, it never bothered Angrath. Being a minotaur that could wield heat magic certainly helped. He picked up his new hammer and swung it around a couple times. He found that it was just as useful a weapon as it was a blacksmithing tool. It certainly lived up to its forger's reputation.

After a few minutes, Tamiyo arrived dressed in the thickest fur cloak she owned. She and Angrath had agreed to meet at Skybreen to discuss future travels. "What'd you find on Tarkir?" Angrath asked.

"Nothing much yet. As you said, it's a wasteland." Tamiyo replied. "Though there is something interesting."

"What's that?"

"An old tale among the Atarka clan mentions a world known as Ixalan, which holds a powerful relic known as the Immortal Sun."

"Ixalan? Never heard of it."

"Neither has any other Planeswalker I've spoken to. And I can't find another mention of it anywhere in my records. As far as I can tell, no one's been there for decades, maybe centuries."

"And there's an immensely valuable treasure there?" Angrath smiled a greedy smile. "I see an opportunity."

Tamiyo knew that look and regretted bringing up the Immortal Sun. Angrath simply couldn't ignore treasure, and would usually drag Tamiyo and the others along for the hunt. Normally she didn't mind too much, but this time she could sense something was wrong and tried to talk Angrath out of it. "Wait, I still have more research to do. I have to find out why no one's been to Ixalan for so long."

"Probably just 'cause it's a backwater plane in the middle of nowhere."

"I don't know. This sounds dangerous."

"That's what you say about all our adventures." Angrath began to glow. "You do your research, and I'll go plunder that treasure." With that, he planeswalked away.

* * *

Angrath found himself on a tropical beach. Nearby was the wreckage of several ships and numerous corpses of humans, vampires and large, feathery lizards. Apparently he'd arrived on a battleground. From the looks of things, it looked like the vampires had won, driving the humans and their lizards back into the jungle. Angrath looked to the sky to see several large, winged reptiles flying overhead. He then saw more long-necked reptiles poking out over the treetops.

"Dammit, the plane's full of dragons." Angrath said to himself. "Funny-looking ones, though." He knew he didn't want to stay here longer than necessary. He rummaged around the battlefield to look for clues on the Immortal Sun when he found a book being clutched by one of the dead vampires. The book was leather-bound and featured an ornate rose on the cover. Perhaps this was some kind of holy scripture. Angrath sat down and began thumbing through it, hoping it might say something about the Immortal Sun.

* * *

Tamiyo rolled up her _He Who Frightens the Sun_ scroll and stowed it in her bag, dropping her shroud of invisibility. She'd finally reached a hidden underground chamber in Ojutai's territory. Rumor had it that this chamber contained scrolls and books from Tarkir's ancient past. Sneaking around an ancient and powerful dragon like Ojutai was dangerous, but if there was any information on Ixalan still left on Tarkir, it would have to be here.

She examined the door to the chamber, only to find it had been magically locked. As Tamiyo rummaged through her bag looking for a story to pick the lock, she heard someone approaching from behind. She was about to planeswalk away, but remembered all the trouble she'd gone through to reach this place and didn't want to have to repeat it. Instead, she grabbed _He Who Frightens the Sun_ and prepared to use its magic again, but it was too late.

"Who are you?" asked Tamiyo's stalker. The soratami turned to see that it was a young human girl, apparently in her mid-teens, dressed in typical Ojutai garb. Tamiyo and the girl took a long, silent look at each other. Tamiyo was fascinated with this girl. For someone so young to outwit Ojutai and make her way to this chamber, there must be something special about her.

"My name is Tamiyo, young one."

"W-what are you?" This was a question Tamiyo was used to. As far as she knew, there weren't any soratami in the multiverse outside of Kamigawa. Sometimes she envied her human friends.

"I'm a soratami. I'm from… far away. What's your name?"

"R-right. I'm Narset." she answered, avoiding eye contact with Tamiyo. "S-sorry, I'm not good around strangers."

"It's alright. What brings you down here?"

"Well, in my studies, I've noticed some gaps and inconsistencies in Tarkir's history. It almost seems like the Dragonlords are hiding something, and I have to know what that is."

"An insatiable thirst for knowledge, I see." Tamiyo smiled at Narset. "I know that feeling all too well."

"Um, I can get the lock for you." Narset turned to the chamber door and held out her hand. She took a deep breath and her eyes began to glow. Seconds later, the magic around the lock dissipated and the door swung open.

"Thank you." Tamiyo said. Seeing Narset perform that spell was all the proof Tamiyo needed. "When your spark ignites, come meet me on Kamigawa."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand soon enough." With that, the two scholars entered Ojutai's forbidden chamber. Inside was a room lit by torches emitting pale blue-green light. It was filled with ancient-looking scrolls separated into five sections labeled Abzan, Jeskai, Sultai, Mardu and Temur, with an apparently unsorted sixth section. What caught Narset's eye was a tapestry hanging in the middle of the room depicting an enormous ethereal dragon, larger than any of the Dragonlords by far. The draconic script on the tapestry read 'Ugin, the Soul of Tarkir'.

"Amazing!" Narset stood in awe of the treasure trove of knowledge she'd discovered. "I could spend eternity in here!" Tamiyo, on the other hand, was focused on learning more about Ixalan. She noticed that the symbol in the Temur section was remarkably similar to Atarka's, so she began her search there. The tale she heard was centered around Yasova Dragonclaw and her twin granddaughters Naiva and Baishya. After some searching, Tamiyo found a scroll about the twins and began reading.

* * *

After several days of wandering through the jungle, Angrath was no closer to the fabled Golden City of Orazca than when he'd started. Whoever created the Immortal Sun did an excellent job of hiding it. Exploring this dense, dragon-infested jungle was getting to be too much for Angrath to handle alone. It was time to go get some help.

The Planeswalker made his way to an open area, then prepared to planeswalk. He envisioned Oboro, then began to glow and disappeared. He caught a glimpse of Kamigawa's majestic city in the clouds, but before he made it there, an invisible force dragged him back to Ixalan and he rematerialized in the same place as before he tried to leave. He looked up to see a gold circle-and-triangle sigil manifesting above him.

"What the hell?!" Angrath cursed. He tried again to reach Kamigawa, only to get the same result. This wasn't looking good. He tried to planeswalk to his homeworld instead, but that didn't work either. Then he tried Dominaria, then Kaldheim, then Zendikar, then Ulgrotha, then Theros. But no matter where he tried to go, that sigil always pulled him back here. It finally dawned on him. This was the reason Ixalan had gone unexplored for so long. Realizing he was cut off from his family and friends, he cursed to the high heavens, then fell to his knees in despair.

* * *

Rumi sat at her family's forge finishing up on the sword the mayor had ordered. Once she finished pounding the steel into shape and cooling the blade, she looked again at her hammer, taking a moment to appreciate how exquisite it was both in appearance and functionality. No doubt it was her favorite gift her father had given her. With her work finished, she headed to the kitchen for lunch when she heard a knock on the door. She answered it to find Tamiyo with a somber look on her face. "Uh, hey, Tamiyo."

"Hello, Rumi." Tamiyo answered weakly. "Are your mother and sister home?"

"Yeah." Rumi turned around. "Mom, Jamira, Tamiyo's here." Soon after, Angrath's family crowded around the front door to greet the soratami. All of them noticed the look on Tamiyo's face, but only Rassia mustered the courage to ask.

"What brings you here?"

Tamiyo sighed a heavy sigh. "It's about Angrath…"


End file.
